By Kyra Weiss, Staff Reporter
As COVID-19 and the fear surrounding it runs rampant, necessities are in high demand, causing widespread shortages. To combat these shortages, companies around the world are finding ways to fight the disease in their own factories.
Various companies have focused production efforts on much needed medical and sanitary equipment instead of their normal products. Companies around the world are innovating and helping to supply personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectant, and ventilators to those who need it most.
CEO of My Pillow, Michael Lindell, has announced the company has now shifted 75% of their production abilities solely to creating cotton masks. Lindell has asserted that their production will reach up to 50 thousand masks a day. The masks will only be available to healthcare workers.
MLB official uniform manufacturer, Fanatics, is starting production of both masks and gowns. The masks and gowns available to healthcare workers are made from the same material as the uniforms. Company CEO Miachel Ruben suggested they will produce up to one million masks and gowns over the next month.
Perfume factories and distilleries around the world have now converted their “alcohol-based” production to a new product, hand sanitizer. Conglomerate LVMH, the parent company of Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy, and Louis Vouitton, is now switching production of perfume to hand sanitiser for French first responders and medical workers. After deciding on the switch, LVMH converted their production in a mere 72 hours, putting themselves on track to produce 12 tons.
Ventilator production is a slow process, but asmist a dire need of more breathing assistance to critical patients, Ford, GE, and Virgin Orbit have focused production on ventilators.
Ford has partnered with Healthcare company GE to produce an estimated 50 thousand ventilators between April 20 and July 4.
Long Beach based company Virgin Orbit has worked with UCI to create a prototype of a machine to reduce ventilator congestion. The device, being called a “bridge ventilator”, helps to transition patients in less critical condition off of ventilators, freeing up spaces for the weaker patients. Production is expected early this month.
In this time of great uncertainty, companies have asserted the need to support one another and make the changes they are capable of.
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